Anuar, fourth from left, celebrates one of his three goals.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY
If the Korean men had serious intentions of defending the Asia Cup, they got a reality check after a 4-1 defeat to Malaysia in their second outing at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Saturday.
Korea started well and with a strike in the 66th second of the match, Geonhyo Jin finding a gap between the multitude of legs and sticks inside the Malaysian circle, it looked like a goal-fest was on offer. But after that blazing start, the Malaysians gradually pushed back, building up their attacks from either flank slowly, patiently but effectively.
They wasted a penalty corner at the end of the quarter but kept increasing their control on the game before Akhimullah Anuar scored the first of his three goals in the 29th minute to put the teams on level going into half-time.
The second half saw Malaysia come out with greater purpose and two goals in as many minutes soon after resumption put the World No. 12 side in a comfortable 3-1 lead. Instead of constantly rushing ahead for more, the Malaysians decided to play smart, keeping the ball in play and rotating it across the field to keep the Koreans away from their circle. Korea earned a couple of PCs but the Malaysian defence held firm and a few half chances were safely cleared away.
The result put Malaysia firmly on top of the table with two wins in as many games. It also sealed a spot in the Super 4s with a match against Chinese Taipei left.
World No. 13th-ranked Korea, on the other hand, will now have to at least pick up a point against Bangladesh, in a virtual eliminator, to stay alive in the competition. Bangladesh, who made easy work of minnow Chinese Taipei (8-3) in the other Pool B-match, will need a win to progress.
The results: Pool-B: Bangladesh 8 (Md. Abdullah 4, 26, Rakibul Hasan 42, 42, Ashraful Islam 45, 58, Shohanur Sobuj 36, Rezaul Babu 56) bt Chinese Taipei 3 (Tsung-Yu Hsieh 10, 18, Tsung-Jen Shih 60); Malaysia 4 (Akhimullah Anuar 29, 34, 58, Ashran Hamsani 33) bt Korea 1 (Geonhyo Jin 2).
Published – August 30, 2025 06:19 pm IST
